Stave-dressing machine



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. O. SOMMER.

STAVE DRESSING MACHINE.

Patented Sept. 21, 1886.

I fizrezzfor 447/!!! [-711 fpingii T A kz N. PETERS Phogvljthogmpher, Wnhinghm. D c.

(No Model.) ZjSheets-Sheet 2.

C. SUMMER.

STAVE DRESSING MACHINE. No. 349.323. Patented Sept. 21, 1886.

WW u

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES SOMMER, OF SLOANS VALLEY, KENTUCKY.

STAVE-DRESS'ING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 349,323, dated September 21, 1886.

Application filed April 11, 1885. Serial No. 161,967. (No model) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES SoMMnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sloans Valley, Pulaski county, State of Kentucky, have invented new and useful Improvements in StaveDressing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in stave-dressing machines in which staves are dressed for the manufacture of water-tight vessels, such as beer-kegs, oil-barrels, 850.

The object of my invention is to dress the staves on both sides at once, in the same time giving them the desired curve corresponding with the diameter of the keg and providing two thicker end portions, allowing depth for the croze, and leaving a thinner middle portion to facilitate bending, (see Figs. 12 and 13 furthermore, to provide a practical labor and time saving feed mechanism. I attain these objects by the construction illustrated in the drawings, in whicl1' Figure l is a side view of my machine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section through the upper portion of it. Fig.- 3 is an end view of the machine, showing that end where the staves leave it and the driving-pulleys are located. Fig. 4 is a partial top View showing front end with support for staves when fed. Fig. 5. is a top view of a portion of the chain, showing a pair of grippers. Fig. 6 is a front view of the upper cutter. Fig. 7 shows a knife of the lower cutter. Fig. 8 is a side view of two links of the chain. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 10 is an under side view, of the same. Fig. 11 is a top view of one of the guide rollers B. Figs. 12 and 13 are a side view and cross-section, respectively, of a stave after being dressed.

A is a stout frame, of timber or cast-iron, having at each end a pair of pulleys, B, which guide and propel two endless chains, 0. One pair of these pulleys derives motion from the motor by means of the belt D, pulley E, and gear-connection F G.

A friction-pulley, R, preferably of wood or paper, bearing against pulley I, and having link and lever connections J J J, pivoted at a a, enablesthe operator to stop the feed mechanism at his will. Friction-pulley R sits on shaft D, which works loosely vertically in one of its bearings D, and allowsthe pulley R to drop sufficiently to come out of contact of pulley I when the hand-lever J is released. A stop, 25, limits the downward drop. The guide-pulleys B are not round, but polygonal, the length of the sides 1) corresponding with the length of the links of the chain.

To insure positive motion of the chain the links of it have on their under side indentations 0, into which teeth I) of the guide-pulleys fit. 7 Between the guide-pulleys the upper portion of the chain moves on a flat smooth track, a, to prevent sagging.

To the outward-turned flat side of the two chains,and reaching at right angles across from one to the other, are fastened by set-screws it one or morepairs of grippers, K. These grippers are toothed on their inner side at and are set apart a little less than the staves are long,in order to allow the teeth of each gripper to take a firm hold of the stave. of the set-screws k, holes 0in the links of the chains,and slots 70 in the flanges k of the grippers, they can be adjusted to any length of stave. There may be as many pairs of grippers as the length of the chain permits, allowing enough space between each pair to give the attendant time to feed.

In feeding into the machine the undressed staves, which are all cut to the same length, the attendant places it on the support H before the second gripper has passed fully around the pulley B. The second or following gripper, in passing around andup in its horizontal position, forces the stave partlyin its own and partly into the teeth of the forward gripper, grasping it firmly flatwise between them, all of which is most clearly shown in Fig. 2.

. The forward end of support H rests on springs h, which yield to any irregularities of the staves while they pass over it. This end of the supporter is guided, and its height relatively to the grippers is regulated, by two pins, h, descending from the under side of it. These pins pass through the springs h, through a hole in bar h, which is bolted to the frame, and have on their lower end a nut, h. This nut limits the upward action of the springs h, but gives free movement to the support downwardly. The other narrow end of thesupp ort only yields laterally by means of a slot, z, in it, through which the thinner end of a stationary pin, 2', passes. The support is held in place on the By means lower side by the enlarged portion of the pin i on top by a countersunk head, 1. The pin i passes through a hole in the cross-bar 'Z, bolted to the frame, and is held in place and 5 regulated by means of two nuts, 1 The two ends of the support are so adjusted vertically that the undressed stave is taken about midway by the grippers. Thestave, firmly held between the grippers, passes on now with the chains, and is carried forward by them to the action of the cutters, between which it passes ilatwise through. The lower cutter, I1, is much like one used in any common planer, except that the knives Z are curved out cor- ;5 responding with the outside diameter of the kegs. (See Fig. 7.) This cutter derives its motion from the main shaft below by means of pulley and belt connection Z M. The upper cutter, N, revolving at right angles to the stave, derives its motion from a countershaft placed as near as possible in a horizontal line with the cutter-shaft. (See Fig. 8.) It has two sets of knives. The outer one, n,which cuts first, outs about half of the superfluous wood out, while the next set, at, having its knives set farther out and corresponding with the inner diameter of the keg, reduces the stave to itsfinal thickness. Knives n and a are slotted, and can be changed according to the thickness of the staves. The stave is thicker atits two ends, as reprtsented in Fig. 12, to allow for the croze. This done by the upper cutter, which is lifted at the proper time by two pairs of forming-blocks, O, as high as the additional thickness requires,and placed in pairs on the chain at the proper place by means of countersunk set-screws. These forming-blocksO actdirectly on two rollers, p, journaled to thelower extensions, 1), of a frame, I. This frame, through which the upper cuttershaft passes, compels said shaft, and the cut terhead with it, to rise cvery time itis raised by the thrilling-blocks acting on the rollers p. The cutter-shalt n extends beyond the frame 5 l at its two ends into two boxes, g, which move vertically up and down in a slot, q, of the two standards Q. Springs q are placed. on top of these boxes q to force them, and with them the cutter-shaft a cutter N, and frame 1?, down as soon as the forming-blocks 0 have passed from underneath the rollers p. The stave, after passing through the cutters, passes on to the other end of the machine, where, when the first gripperturns down on the guidepulleys, it is released and drops out by its own weight. (See Fig. 2.)

The torming-blocks 0 may be of various length and thickness to suit different purposes. By means of countersunk set-screws they can be put closer together or farther apart to suit any length of stave.

By means of set-screws q the tensions of springs (1 may be regulated.

The boxes or bearings Z of lower cutter, L.

move in a slot, (1. in the frame, and by means of two set-screws, Z Z, are adjustable. The drop at the upper cutter is regulated by means of setscrew s. This drop of the upper cut ter and the height of the lower cutter determine the thickness of the stave.

The cutters are so adjusted thatthe grippers K, bent corrcspondingly, pass in the middle between them, leaving above and below sufficient clearance. (See Fig. 3.) The bearings l) of pulley 13 are adjustable longitudinally by means ofsetscrews 7/, to take up any slack in the chain.

This machine leaves the stave of uniform thickness between the two thicker ends, which form I prefer, as it prevents breaking while bending them.

By means of crossed belt and guide-pnllcys the machine maybe so arranged that everything is combincd in one frame. Care has to betakcn in every case that thebelt ofthe upper cutter, which rises and falls, iskept constantly tight. A clutch might be used instead of friction-pulleys R I; also, the cutters might be reversed in some cases. By leaving the pattern-blocks 0 off, straight work can be dressed.

\Vhere necessary, some partsof t he machine, especially the chain on the lower side, may be suitablyprotected against dust and splinters by tin caps and shields.

I claim as new and of myinvention 1. In a stavc-dressing machine, the feed mechanism consisting in the combination of two endless chains, 0, having solid links recessed at their inner or bearing surface at c, for teeth I) of driving and. guide pulleys I? to enter, with adjustable grippers K, toothed at 7., and arranged in pairs reaching at right angles across from one chain to the other, bent between the chains to the shape of the stave, so as to clear the cutting-knives, and having flanges 75, with slots 7.1, through which setscrews pass to hold them to the chains.

2. In a stave-dressing machine, the combination of two cutter-heads, vertically above each other,with the endless chains of the feed mechanism, being so placed in relation to the cutter-heads that the grippers thereon carrying the stave pass midway between the cuttingknives, one of said cutter-heads revolving in a direction at right angles to the other one.

3. In astave-dressingmachine, the combination of the feed mechanism, consisting of chains 0, grippers K, and guide-pulleys 15, with two cutter-heads vertically above each other, and so arranged that one cutter-shaft is below the upper or feeding portion of endless chains 0 and at right angles thereto, the othcrbein g centrally above the level of said chains and parallel with them, one of said cutter-shaftsbeing adj ustable in itsbearings Z, slidingin slot a of frame A, the other vertically yielding, sliding with its bearings q" in slots of standards (g.

4. In astavc-dressing machine, the combination of the endless feeding-chains O with adjustable forming or pattern blocks 0, which raise one of the cutter-heads at the proper time where different thickness of the stave is required, and supports 0, for the upper or feeding portion of chains (J, which carries the grippersKthrough between the cutting-knives at the time.

5. In combination with the yielding cutterhead N, the frame P, through which the cutter-shaft nof the former passes at each side of it, said frame encircling the cutter-head, and having downward extensions 1), which carry rollers p, and rest, ordinarily, on the feedingchains, being held down by springs q in slots q pressing on bearings g of cutter shaft a, said bearings, with shaft n and frame 1?, being free to slide up in slots q of standards Q as frame I? is lifted up by the forming-blocks O 011 chains 0 passing under the rollers 12;

6. In a stave-dressing machine, the combination of the feed mechanism, consisting of the endless chains 0, rollers 13, and grippers K,

2o chine, which latter rests on spiral springs h,

guided by pins h and pin 2'.

7. In a stave-dressing machine, the general construction and combination, substantially as above set forth, of two endless chains, 0, carrying adjustable grippers K, and'two cutterheads, one below and one above the grippers set my hand.

CHARLES SUMMER.

Witnesses:

AARON E. MooRE, CARL SPENGEL. 

